E|S|H Interview: TRDMRK (DJ Nu-Mark & Slimkid3)

Hip-hop heads combine for #MakeAmericaSmartAgain

As some of you probably know, I’ve been heavily involved with the Blog’s partnership with Eat|See|Hear over the summer. For those of you that don’t know, LA Music Blog presented all of the up-and-coming acts who performed ahead of an outdoor screening of a classic movie at the summer series, and I interviewed many of those bands. While it’s been an absolute pleasure to talk to bands on the rise, it was something special to get the chance to talk to two hip-hop and music heads whom I idolize at a very special one-off Eat|See|Hear event.

This particular event was in collaboration with the #MakeAmericaSmartAgain initiative, spearheaded by DJ Diabetic, AKA renowned graphic artist Shepard Fairey, and his wife. The idea is to encourage people to go out and vote in this upcoming presidential election. To describe it as “crazy” would be an understatement, so what better way to ring in this event than to have a 10th anniversary screening of the (now) timely cult classic film Idiocracy?

The event was in full force with a tight crowd at the Echo Park Tennis Courts and Baseball Diamond, with director Mike Judge and actors Terry Crews and Dax Shepard coming out to chat about the making of the film before the screening. Before the Q&A though, Shepard Fairey as DJ Diabetic performed a set that segued into TRDMRK’s (a collaboration between DJ Nu-Mark of Jurassic 5 and Slimkid3 formerly of The Pharcyde along with some additional artists).

With Nu-Mark spinning and mixing and Slimkid3 spitting on the mic with a little help from some friends, TRDMRK performed a short set that just about electrified the whole night, making the vowel-less name one worth of hype while we wait for them to drop their first studio album in 2017. It should have been obvious how great they would be, though, as they come from groups whose messages are clear and whose beats are unparalleled.

I got the amazing opportunity to interview this new duo of sorts before the screening of the film. We discussed the upcoming presidential election and, of course, music, so listen to the whole interview down below via PodBean and be sure to stay updated on TRDMRK by going to their website.